USC Trojan Cupcakes! Fight On!

USC Cupcakes

While I was making the USC cupcakes I had to open my college box and see what was in there since I haven’t opened it up in a couple decades.  I loved seeing dozens and dozens of handwritten letters from my friends.  What a gift!  There were letters detailing how they spent their summer vacations and hopes for the next school year.  Lots of love letters from various gentlemen which were fun to read.  Nothing will make you feel younger… [Read More]

Holiday Cookie Decorating Workshop at West Elm South Coast Plaza

I’m so excited that West Elm South Coast Plaza has asked me me return to teach a holiday cookie decorating workshop at their store in Costa Mesa! There’s lots of info on West Elm OC’s Facebook page where you can sign up for the class ! We’re going to have a flurry o’ fun! Here’s the workshop info from West Elm South Coast Plaza’s Facebook page– Want to impress your friends and family with your cookie decorating skills this holiday… [Read More]

USC Cupcakes Countdown …Sneak Peek

This week the countdown begins to what hopefully will be a great game against the “other team that will not be named on my blog”, but they are our crosstown rivals from Westwood and have a teddy bear for their mascot, at least that’s the effigy that was tied to a stake and burned in the pep rally bonfire on campus a couple nights before the game!  HA! It was a great rally with all the players in attendance and… [Read More]

Get The Party Started with Shutterfly– Perfectly Personal™ Holiday Card Collection

Are you thinking yet about the December holidays and sitting on the fence whether to entertain and host a fun party?  With the temps in the high 80’s here in Southern California it doesn’t exactly feel like the holiday party planning season is here but it is!  Thanks to Shutterfly, I was able to find my holiday spirit while working on a project for them. I’m very pleased to feature a party invitation that I chose, and I think you’ll… [Read More]

Black Cinnamon Candied Apples

Trick or Treat!  Happy Halloween Week!  Here’s a treat that’s best made a day or two before the big night.  It’s a twist on the hard candied apples that are usually colored red but I’ve made these black and cinnamon flavored.  That would be the trick but they’re not tricky to make. To begin, clean apples thoroughly to get the wax off.  I did this by taking baking soda in my hands, dampening with water to make a paste and… [Read More]

Decorated Ghost Cookies With Fondant

First, thank you to all who participated in my last post’s Fabulous Fondant Wilton Give-Away.  I had fun reading all your comments and seeing how you would use all the wonderful products.  I’ll be choosing a winner soon! If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile you know that sometimes, I also like to use fondant to decorate cookies.  On my Pinterest Board – Fondant on Cookies & Cupcakes, you’ll see lots of cookies I’ve decorated using fondant. Today I’m… [Read More]

Wilton Fabulous Fondant Give-Away

I’m very excited to present my ”Fabulous Fondant” Wilton Cake Decorating Give-Way! I’ve been planning it for a very long time and hand choosing each wonderful product for one very lucky reader of Pink Martinis and Pearls.  This fabulous fondant friend of my blog will win everything needed to get started to create fabulous cupcake toppers with embellishments.  Thank you Wilton! If you haven’t worked with rolled fondant to decorate treats such as cakes, cookies or cupcakes you’ve been missing… [Read More]

Hey, It’s New York! Fuhgettaboudit! Vacation–Part 2

Hitting NYC running was the second part of our “big” family vacation recently.  The first leg of our travels took us on The VIP Washington DC Trip.  I hope you go back and read about our adventures in the Capitol and to the Congressional floor! I considered this visit to NYC as my second.  My first trip only being four years ago where I blogged about it here.  This was our boys’ first trip. Without anything really planned in the… [Read More]

Endless Summer Cupcakes – Part 2 Wilton Sea Life Fondant Mold

If you read my post Wilton Sea Life Fondant and Gum Paste – Post Part 1 from a few days ago you know I’m loving finding a new creativity in decorating cupcakes using fondant shapes made from Wilton’s Sea Life silicone mold. In Part 1, I introduced you to this mold and shared with you a DIY tutorial on how to make the cupcake toppers you see below. In this post, I’ll share with how I decorated the cupcakes and… [Read More]

Wilton’s Sea Life Fondant and Gum Paste Mold– Part 1

fondant sealife

Have you ever used a fondant mold to make fun shapes for cake decorations or for cupcake toppers?  That’s what I did to create these sea life fondant embellishments! Fondant is very versatile to work with and I’ve used it many times to decorate cookies but when I attended the Wilton Sweet Up earlier this year I was introduced to molding fondant.  This was my first time using a fondant and gum paste mold and I have to say, I… [Read More]